Federal loan, Measure A funds will be used for Route 91 expansion in Corona

A $1.3 billion finance plan for a project to dramatically expand the primary link between Riverside County bedroom communities and Orange County job centers was approved by a regional board Wednesday, in the first of several project milestones expected over the next couple of months.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission voted 31-0 to adopt a state Route 91 financing strategy backed evenly by local Measure A transportation sales-tax collections and anticipated toll revenue.

A $435 million federal loan, to be repaid through tolls, will fund about one-third of the total cost, said Theresia Trevino, the agency’s chief financial officer.

“For the next two months we’ve got a lot of big activities going on,” she said after the meeting.

In May, the commission is expected to select a contractor to both design and build the new features that will adorn Route 91 from Interstate 15 to the Riverside-Orange county line.

Around June 10, Trevino said, the commission anticipates selling the bonds, with the proceeds to be banked by the end of the month.

Construction then is expected to launch in early 2014, Trevino said.

The affected 10-mile section of freeway in Corona is one of Southern California’s most congested, carrying approximately 300,000 cars daily and serving as the lone heavy lifter for commuter traffic traveling between Southwest Riverside County and Orange County. Some take the road all the way to Los Angeles for jobs.

The Ortega Highway, state Route 74, is used by some commuters, too, but a tiny amount by comparison.

To address mounting, nerve-wracking congestion, the commission is preparing to add two continuous all-traffic lanes in Corona, and to introduce four toll lanes — two in each direction. The latter will double to 20 miles the length of the existing Route 91 express lanes now confined to Orange County just west of the county line.

Commission officials anticipate opening the new lanes and ramp to motorists in late 2017.

Commission Chairwoman Karen Spiegel, a Corona council member, said that although the finished product will be a big help, she dreads the construction phase. If the frequent backups associated with the ongoing construction of car pool lanes on Route 91 in central Riverside are any indication, motorists are going to have to endure a lot of lengthy delays.

Once opened, the commission is set to operate the toll facility until 2067, when it is to be transferred to the California Department of Transportation. The facility will operate much like the existing express lanes in Orange County, with FasTrak transponders required for all usage and discounts given for car pools. Toll rates are based on time of day.

Trevino said it will take 35 years to collect enough revenue to pay off the federal loan and bonds backed by tolls. That means the commission will be able to pump the last 15 years of collections into corridor improvements, she said.

The loan will make it easier to finance the project, Trevino said, because the commission won’t begin making payments on it until 2022 and won’t begin paying down the principal until 2027.

“They’re a patient lender, is what we like to say,” Trevino said of the federal government.

“At a great rate,” added Collins.

Trevino said the agency is anticipating a rate of 3.5 percent and possibly lower for the loan. Rates for the bonds backed by toll and sales tax revenue are expected to come in somewhere between 3 percent and 6.5 percent, she told commissioners.